I think those skeptics (like the one that started this thread) think stock trading is profitable...not Index Futures. Thus, did you see the title of this thread ? (its about index futures...not stocks)
Arguing semantics is a defensive tactic...... It has been proven that trading real money is profitable. But you make a valid point. Shall I enter the TST combine? Will that satisfy The ET Jury?
It has already been proven "many times" in other threads that one can profitably trade index futures or stocks via statements and real-time calls. The issue is that the naysayers usually show up "after the fact" and want it proven again in a new thread. Simply, no matter what you do and no matter how long you do it...new naysayers will always show up at a later date and say "prove it" or that the trader was just lucky. My point, eventually you and others like you need to learn how to ignore every Joe Bob that shows up at ET requesting proof or throwing out challenges especially the ones that say show me your method so that I can test it. Comically, the naysayers are either not traders, not profitable traders or strangely use charts and say its not using TA. The latter are the biggest naysayers here at ET and say things like...I only use charts for visualization of the price action. On the flip side, profitable traders using TA pretend they're using TA and nothing else in their debates with naysayers when the profitable traders know they're using other variables (e.g. money management, trading experience, proper resources, discipline and so on) with their technical analysis. Thus, the debates will always continue every year between new naysayers and new traders that pretend other critical variables involved in trading is not being used. See you next year in a new thread called "It can't be done..." or "TA is not useful...".
I believe this is true. I spent 3 years looking for the "perfect" TA buy signal but came to finally realize that any signal will work great under the "right" conditions. Those conditions are the key element to the secret sauce....... I won't discount the theory of "price drivers" or "capital waves" (as one of my early Gurus used to call them). If the forcing function behind all the gyrations on the chart can be known, no further analysis is necessary; just buy low and wait...... As for me, I'm not at the "price drivers" level and must infer what I can from how The Market and its various components are acting.